This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Suboptimal kidney development resulting in an in-born deficit in nephron number can have lifelong consequences and is associated with a significant risk of cardiovascular-renal disease in later life, compared to those born with a typical nephron endowment. The long-term goal of the current proposal is to identify cellular mechanisms that drive successful nephron differentiation to achieve optimal nephron endowment. Specifically, we will explore the roles of the homeobox gene sine oculis 2 (six2), and determine whether six2 is involved in the establishment of nephron number during kidney organogenesis. Using an RNAi methodology, experiments are designed to determine whether inactivation of six2 transcription early in nephrogenesis results in a significant decrease in ureteric bud growth and, therefore, nephron number in an organotypic kidney explant culture. Further, using a mouse model of heritable renal hypoplasia that lacks sufficient expression of six2 during development (the Brachyrrhine (Br) mutant mouse), we will take a systematic approach to re-introduce six2 to kidney explants that are prepared from Br mice and determine if exogenous six2 stimulates branching of the ureteric buds leading to an enhanced nephron production. Additionally, we will incorporate a 250 kb Bac containing six2 gene into the Br mouse genome to attempt to increase nephron number and, thereby rescuing the defective renal phenotype associated with six2 deficiency. Following the rescue we will assess if renal physiological features are restored in the adult Br mouse. This proposal will take advantage of the Br mouse strain that displays haploinsufficiency of six2 gene expression and is the only working colony in the world. Similarly, we have fully characterized the physiology of the adult Br mouse that demonstrates hypertension and chronic renal failure facilitating our phenotypic rescue experiments. When considered together, these experiments will provide the fundamental insights that constitute the genetic basis of six2 in renal morphogenesis and specifically establish whether six2 directly determines nephron endowment in the developing kidney. Results from this study will also underscore the importance of six2 in possible nephron restoration approaches in the adult diseased kidney.